It’s so nice to head out for breakfast on the weekend (and if you manage to score some time at a café child-free, good for you!).
When we dine out though, many of us fall into a trap of not thinking too much about exactly what we are eating.
Which means we might just end up ordering too much of the wrong things.
So today we thought we would give you a little bit of info about calories at the café (including a sneak peak at our new handbag sized Calorie Book, which is available here).
This is not to say that you shouldn’t head out and enjoy a nice breakfast or a treat now and then. Rather it is just to give you the tools and information to help you make the best choices when you do.
First of all, the good news is that a cup of coffee is not going to tip you over the edge of your daily calorie intake (you can work yours out here).
If you’re a cappuccino/latte/flat white person, a small (220ml) coffee will set you back 123 calories. For a hot chocolate, it’s 188 calories.
Prefer skim? A skim cappuccino/latte/flat white stands at 68 calories for a 220ml cup. A skim hot chocolate is 162 calories.
If you like your coffee black, you’ll be pleased to know that a long black has just 2 calories, while a short black actually has none.
Tea, also, is a great choice with a cup of herbal or black tea coming in at just 3 calories.
The ones to watch are (of course) the bigger drinks that contain cream or ice cream. These include drinks like an iced coffee (312 calories for a 600ml drink) or an iced chocolate (630 calories for a 600ml drink).
Once you’ve had your caffeine fix it’s time to order something to eat. A great choice is to go for some poached eggs (73 calories each) with a slice of wholegrain toast (90 calories) and a side of veggies (think spinach or mushrooms which are just 24 calories per 100g) or some heart healthy avocado (206 calories per 100g).
Or you could try a toasted BLT on a wholegrain roll (343 calories). A traditional breakfast of 1 egg with 2 rashers of bacon and 2 slices of toast comes in at 411 calories.
A less than ideal choice would be to select something like Eggs Benedict with bacon, which (at a 330g serve) packs in 1310 calories thanks to the creamy sauce.
Even something as simple as two slices of raisin toast with butter can be much higher in calories than you might think – 492 calories. That’s more calories than a chocolate croissant (433).
Banana bread is another café favourite, but the traditional recipe has a lot of butter and sugar added and comes in at around 194 calories per slice. If you or your kids are big fans, why not try baking your own at home to have as a snack through the week?
Our healthy wholegrain banana bread recipe uses LSA to replace some of the white flour; olive or coconut oil instead of butter; and is sweetened with honey instead of sugar.
While it is similar in terms of the calories, this is an example where it is more about the nutritional benefit of the ingredients rather than just the pure number of calories. You can read more about foods that are healthy but higher in calories here.
Fruit salad is a great choice at just 48 calories for a 130g serve. Why not then add a few dollops of a natural yoghurt like Jalna (Fat Free (53 calories per 100g) or a 30g serve of Bircher Muesli (127 calories).
For more information like this and some healthy recipes for meals, snacks and smoothies take a look at our NEW CALORIE BIBLE today! Only $19.95 and a must have in your handbag!
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